Best Sovereign bond deal
Republic of Colombia
Deal type: six-year global TES bond
Deal size: $375 million
Date: November 2004
Bookrunner: Citigroup
When Uruguay issued a global bond denominated in domestic currency at the end of 2003, markets weren't sure what to make of it. They knew it was a good idea in theory – the holy grail of emerging market government is long-term domestic-currency financing. They just weren't sure when or whether it would be repeated.
They got their answer in November 2004 when Colombia came with a blow-out six-year deal, denominated in Colombian pesos but settled in dollars. This time around, the bond wasn't even inflation indexed: investors were taking pure Colombian currency risk. But the order book rapidly exceeded $1 billion: more than the book for the $500 million 2014 bond that Colombia also issued at the end of the year.
Partly, it was a matter of timing. Investors were bearish on the dollar, and were looking to pick up some foreign exchange gains along with their premium-priced coupon.